Etiquette: the spirit of the game.

Three expectations

Rule 1.2a of the 2023 Rules of Golf says every player is expected to play in the spirit of the game, and spells out what that means in three parts:

• Act with integrity: follow the Rules, apply all penalties, and be honest in every part of play.
• Show consideration to others: play at a prompt pace, look out for other people's safety, and do not distract other players.
• Take good care of the course: replace divots, smooth bunkers, repair ball-marks, and do not cause unnecessary damage.

There is no penalty under the Rules for falling short of these standards, with one important exception: the Committee may disqualify a player for serious misconduct contrary to the spirit of the game. Rule 1.2a describes serious misconduct as behaviour so far removed from what is expected in golf that removing the player from the competition is justified.

Integrity: you are your own referee

Golfers are expected to call penalties on themselves. The purpose statement of Rule 1 says this is so that nobody gains an advantage over the other players. The Rules treat deliberately ignoring a penalty very seriously: under Rule 1.3b a player who knows about a penalty and deliberately fails to apply it is disqualified, and so are players who agree between themselves to ignore a Rule or penalty they know applies, even before they act on it. Honest scorekeeping matters too: in stroke play, returning a lower score than you made on a hole means disqualification, unless the difference was a penalty you did not know about (Rule 3.3b(3)).

Safety and "fore"

Looking out for other people's safety is part of showing consideration under Rule 1.2a. If you hit a shot that might endanger someone, the Rule says you should shout a warning straight away, such as the traditional "fore". Lightning is covered too: Rule 5.7a lets you stop play if you reasonably believe there is danger from lightning, provided you report to the Committee as soon as possible.

Consideration on the course

• Do not distract other players. It is one of the examples of consideration in Rule 1.2a.
• Keep up. Playing at a prompt pace is listed in Rule 1.2a as part of consideration. The pace of play page covers the 40-second recommendation and ready golf.
• Know the order of play. The honour is a player's right to play first from the teeing area (Definitions, Rule 6.4). In stroke play, Rule 5.6b allows players to play out of turn in a safe and responsible way to save time, which is often called ready golf.
• Phones and music. Rule 4.3a allows listening to audio or watching video unrelated to the competition, but not using audio to block out distractions or keep a swing tempo. Model Local Rule G-8 lets a Committee ban personal audio and video devices during a round, but only where the Committee adopts it.

Caring for the course

Rule 1.2a names three habits, and other Rules make room for them:

• Divots: replace them, as Rule 1.2a asks.
• Bunkers: smooth the sand when you leave. Rule 12.2b specifically allows smoothing sand to care for the course, even before your own stroke from the bunker.
• Ball-marks and the green: under Rule 13.1c you may repair almost any damage on the putting green, including ball-marks, shoe damage, scrapes, old hole plugs, turf seams and animal tracks. You may not repair aeration holes, mowing grooves, the effects of irrigation or rain, or natural imperfections and wear. The 2019 modernisation of the Rules first allowed repair of spike marks and animal damage.
• The green surface: during a round you must not rub the green or roll a ball on it to test it, except on the green you have just finished and on practice greens between holes (Rule 13.1e).

Codes of Conduct

A Committee can go further than Rule 1.2a. Under Rule 1.2b it may adopt its own standards of player conduct in a Code of Conduct, set as a Local Rule, with penalties such as one stroke or the general penalty. Section 5I of the Committee Procedures lists the standards a Committee may include. Before the 2019 modernisation, the USGA's summary of the changes notes, a Committee could only disqualify for a serious breach of etiquette; the Code of Conduct gave it lesser penalties to use. A Code of Conduct applies only at a course or competition whose Committee has adopted one, so check the notice board or the Terms of the Competition.

The short version

Be honest about your score, be ready when it is your turn, keep others safe, and look after the course. The getting started page has more for new golfers, and the putting green page covers marking, lifting and the flagstick.